This invention relates to carrier and pack accessories designed for carrying on a motorcycle.
Motorcycles are sometimes used to carry maximum loads, as where two riders travel with sleeping bags or other shelter, and are sometimes utilized to carry a minimum load, as where a single rider travels with little or no load behind him. A carrier can be readily designed for any loading, but it generally does not serve well at other load levels. For example, a long carrier can be mounted on the rear of a motorcycle to carry heavy loads and still allow two riders to be carried, with the relatively poor riding characteristics being acceptable to the motorcyclists under these conditions. However, when there is only one rider or only a small load, a long carrier causes greater interference with riding characteristics than is desirable. In a similar manner, a pack for holding a tent, sleeping bags and other goods on a motorcycle carrier may cause a greater interference with riding characteristics than necessary if the pack is designed only for "worst case" or heaviest loading conditions. A major factor in determining riding characteristics is whether the center of gravity remains at the original location. Thus, a large load may be carried on a long carrier, if there are two riders to prevent a large rearward shift in the center of gravity, while such a loading may lead to a critical "wobble" condition if there is only one rider.